This application claims the priority of German Application 102 09 004.1 filed Feb. 28, 2002, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a method for regulating a heating and/or air-conditioning system, and more particularly to a method which uses a control apparatus which activates the individual air-conditioning components according to control and regulating programs contained in it, the vehicle interior having individual air-conditioning zones which can be regulated individually in terms of their air-conditioning capacity by the general air-conditioning regulation.
DE 19751370 C1 discloses a heating, ventilation and/or air-conditioning system for motor vehicles, with an interior-temperature regulating device which changes over to a special comfort operating mode when a heating-capacity deficiency occurs. The system detects a heating-capacity deficiency which is present when predetermined desired values of the outlet-air temperature cannot be reached by the available heating capacity. The regulating device is switched over to a comfort operating mode when a heating-capacity deficiency is present and switched back into a standard operating mode when there is no heating-capacity deficiency. In the comfort operating mode, the conveying capacity of the blower is set by an experimentally determined vehicle-specific characteristic curve. If apparatus for detecting a heating-capacity deficiency in the system are connected electrically to a control unit for controlling at least one air-mixing flap and/or for controlling a heat-exchanger valve, a heating-capacity deficiency in the system is detected, for example, when the air-mixing flap and/or the valve are in a maximum position.
In this type of heating and/or air-conditioning system, one disadvantage is that the individual air outlets cannot be regulated completely independently of one another in terms of their heating capacity. It is only possible to detect a general heating-capacity deficiency and then switch over to the comfort operating mode. It is not possible, however, to activate individual air outlets specifically as a function of their air-conditioning deficit and specifically counteract cooling effects also due, for example, to cold radiating through the windows, in particular the windscreen.